What Art Offers Is Space -- a Certain Breathing Room for the Spirit. October 15, 2016 3:18 PM Subscribe
Show us your art! I'm feeling the need for some beauty and some MeFite sharing, so let's see (and/or read about) your favorite object of beauty in your living space (art, tchotchke, design element, whatever) ... whatever it is that's beautiful in your space and brings you happiness from looking at it. Show us your #1, show us your top 5, I just want to see what beautiful things bring you all happiness in your homes!
The beautiful thing that makes me happiest lately is the big picture window with a hummingbird feeder hanging in front of it, because it's a lovely view that frequently includes hummingbirds. But! Next to it I have this framed watercolor of Venice, which I bought from a street artist and then had framed. It makes me happy every time I notice it -- it's like my little magic porthole (I love that idea, LobsterMitten!) onto the Grand Canal.
posted by lazuli at 3:48 PM on October 15, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by lazuli at 3:48 PM on October 15, 2016 [4 favorites]
This is probably not quite what you have in mind, but I have a print of Yzma and the Beast. It makes me smile when I see it. I can never decide whose expression I like more.
(Part of the "Yzma Is Best Princess" series, available from the artist on Etsy.)
posted by Shmuel510 at 4:14 PM on October 15, 2016 [9 favorites]
(Part of the "Yzma Is Best Princess" series, available from the artist on Etsy.)
posted by Shmuel510 at 4:14 PM on October 15, 2016 [9 favorites]
That is exactly what I have in mind, MeFites have all kinds of cool, idiosyncratic things that make them happy and I want to see them all!
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 4:15 PM on October 15, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 4:15 PM on October 15, 2016 [2 favorites]
We try to collect local artists; here are a couple I particularly like. This glass bowl (which is on the top shelf of my bookshelves instead of by itself in display-y glory because I have children, enjoy my taped-up copy of Les Miz) is by Prairie Fire Glass and is part of a series inspired by literal prairie fires.
In the same vein, I have a Larry Kanfer I adore (sorry for the terrible glare, and ignore my ugly dining room wallpaper). He takes photos of the prairie that are what I think is gorgeous about the prairie and am always trying to express to others, so my husband got me a print for our anniversary one year. With stormclouds, as I do particularly love stormclouds!
I have more but those are my locally-produced faves that particularly please me and give me open-hearted, open-sky prairie feels.
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 4:25 PM on October 15, 2016 [11 favorites]
In the same vein, I have a Larry Kanfer I adore (sorry for the terrible glare, and ignore my ugly dining room wallpaper). He takes photos of the prairie that are what I think is gorgeous about the prairie and am always trying to express to others, so my husband got me a print for our anniversary one year. With stormclouds, as I do particularly love stormclouds!
I have more but those are my locally-produced faves that particularly please me and give me open-hearted, open-sky prairie feels.
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 4:25 PM on October 15, 2016 [11 favorites]
I have a post it with something I drawn with a brush pen I call "mondrian cat".
For some reason, it makes me happy. And that's why it is held on place with tape.
posted by lmfsilva at 4:28 PM on October 15, 2016 [3 favorites]
For some reason, it makes me happy. And that's why it is held on place with tape.
posted by lmfsilva at 4:28 PM on October 15, 2016 [3 favorites]
OMG Lovely post Eyebrows!
My lovely beauty for this year. A new original from the artist purchase after ages. The display looks better IRL
Later on I'll put up more pix of the rest of the stuff :)
posted by infini at 4:46 PM on October 15, 2016 [5 favorites]
My lovely beauty for this year. A new original from the artist purchase after ages. The display looks better IRL
Later on I'll put up more pix of the rest of the stuff :)
posted by infini at 4:46 PM on October 15, 2016 [5 favorites]
My house looks like a big nothing from the outside, the sort of place one might write angry letters to the gov't by candlelight, but it still feels like a home because of the art I've accumulated. Most recent is a print of tattoo flash by Canadian musician Daniel Romano, a gift from my brother. #1 will have to wait until this storm passes, not enough light to photograph. Thanks for asking.
posted by Lorin at 4:56 PM on October 15, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by Lorin at 4:56 PM on October 15, 2016 [4 favorites]
What Art Offers Is Space
I thought initially that Artw was offering his couch to anyone who might drop by....
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:56 PM on October 15, 2016 [2 favorites]
I thought initially that Artw was offering his couch to anyone who might drop by....
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:56 PM on October 15, 2016 [2 favorites]
I have a collection of wheel weights prominently displayed in my living room.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 5:15 PM on October 15, 2016 [9 favorites]
posted by Joseph Gurl at 5:15 PM on October 15, 2016 [9 favorites]
Eyebrows, I love that prairie photo!
posted by lazuli at 5:21 PM on October 15, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by lazuli at 5:21 PM on October 15, 2016 [1 favorite]
I have floor to ceiling bookcases in my loft. I don't have a photo to share, but believe me when I say that seeing that expanse of beautiful books brings me a joyful, comforting feeling every day--much more than any painting on that wall ever could!
posted by bookmammal at 5:57 PM on October 15, 2016 [14 favorites]
posted by bookmammal at 5:57 PM on October 15, 2016 [14 favorites]
I have a 10 cm high copy of this Alexander Archipenko sculpture in front of me as I type. I found it in a flea market the very first weekend I moved to Rio de Janeiro.
posted by adamvasco at 5:57 PM on October 15, 2016 [8 favorites]
posted by adamvasco at 5:57 PM on October 15, 2016 [8 favorites]
I'm forever in love with this giraffe painting, purchased at a yard sale the day after my first-ever acid trip. It called to me! I also have this signed poster from a joint Amanda Palmer/Neil Gaiman show which I am still very proud of and is the first thing I ever had framed.
posted by Gymnopedist at 6:01 PM on October 15, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by Gymnopedist at 6:01 PM on October 15, 2016 [7 favorites]
This is the view from my bed, taken last January after I broke my foot. The painting on the left is by my aunt and the one on the right is by her sister, my mom. I loved both those ladies with all my heart and it just makes me happy to lie in bed and see their art. Oooh this is fun, I have so. much. art. and I will put some pictures up!
The lady in the middle is one of my favorite household demons who would like to knock both paintings off the wall but so far she has not succeeded.
posted by mygothlaundry at 6:08 PM on October 15, 2016 [10 favorites]
The lady in the middle is one of my favorite household demons who would like to knock both paintings off the wall but so far she has not succeeded.
posted by mygothlaundry at 6:08 PM on October 15, 2016 [10 favorites]
do hilarious potgs count as art
posted by poffin boffin at 7:08 PM on October 15, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by poffin boffin at 7:08 PM on October 15, 2016 [1 favorite]
And here's my living room (and part of the kitchen) the panorama makes it look bigger and not quite as dusty as it actually is, phew. So yeah I have a lot of art. Left to right in the kitchen is one of my photos then in the living room is an ancestor we think it is my great great grandfather or possibly uncle, nobody is really sure, along with pictures of my parents and aunt and some small gods and glassware. On the bookshelf along with the complete works of Iain M. Banks (who I discovered through mefi) there are such works of genius as the ceramic dinosaur my daughter made when she was 6 and the criterion collection Repo Man that boringpostcards gave me, for if that is not art, what is? And also another lifelong friend met tangentially (metachat!) through this place. Then there is another of my aunts paintings which you cannot really see and a print by my friend Peter which you also cannot see. This is a pity because they are both awesome. Then there's a monoprint by my friend Noelle of kids sledding in Patterson Park, a painting by my ex father in law and a painting by my friend Jodi. Past the window there is another painting by Annie (my aunt) and two photos by my friend Zen (I am going to fix the crooked one some time soon, I swear) and a small print of an owl that might be Annie's or it might be by one of her friends from the 50s, nobody really knows. On the bottom there is one of my photos. And to the right of that group, sadly barely visible, is a watercolor of Venice done by my grandmother in like 1912 and a print by my friend Tina. Then more bookcases, a plastic monster head and rusted toy truck I found in the woods and a glass jar full of stones and shells and marbles and we end our tour with a painting of garlic by my ex father in law. There is more. My whole house looks like this or even more so. Marie Kondo would just keel over and die on the spot. But it all brings me joy except when I have to dust it which I do not do as often as I should.
posted by mygothlaundry at 8:15 PM on October 15, 2016 [12 favorites]
posted by mygothlaundry at 8:15 PM on October 15, 2016 [12 favorites]
I have a few things I'm really happy with.
I bought this and then Asked MetaFilter how to embiggen it. I wasn't too happy with the result from the printer I took it to, nevertheless it hangs in my kitchen. I was very happy to have a high-res scan of the image which I cycle through as a desktop background on my huge desktop monitor.
klangklangston gave me a large print of one of his photographs. It's one of a series of 4 prints and the other three hang in his living room.
There are a few other tubed pieces which are really due for a framing. The next one is going to be from another MeFite: The score for Song From Twenty-Eight Rooms
posted by carsonb at 8:33 PM on October 15, 2016 [2 favorites]
I bought this and then Asked MetaFilter how to embiggen it. I wasn't too happy with the result from the printer I took it to, nevertheless it hangs in my kitchen. I was very happy to have a high-res scan of the image which I cycle through as a desktop background on my huge desktop monitor.
klangklangston gave me a large print of one of his photographs. It's one of a series of 4 prints and the other three hang in his living room.
There are a few other tubed pieces which are really due for a framing. The next one is going to be from another MeFite: The score for Song From Twenty-Eight Rooms
posted by carsonb at 8:33 PM on October 15, 2016 [2 favorites]
Daughter #1 just started 2nd year studio art and I hijacked one of her first year paintings for our living room. She might be mad that I posted it but I love it so much.
Completely unrelated is the joy that this giant metal fish over the basement toilet brings me.
posted by chococat at 9:46 PM on October 15, 2016 [14 favorites]
Completely unrelated is the joy that this giant metal fish over the basement toilet brings me.
posted by chococat at 9:46 PM on October 15, 2016 [14 favorites]
My roommates kindly let me take over a whole wall of our downstairs with part of my zine collection. Believe it or not this is just a tiny fraction; need to work on hanging more of the rest
Here's a broad view of the largest wall of zines.
Here are some of the pieces. That last picture features two zines by mefi's own bile and syntax!
There are zines in there by friends, partners, ex-partners, people I don't know well but whose work I admire a hell of a lot. Some of the strings are grouped by author, some thematically, some just associated in my head because I bought them all at the same time/place. It makes me happy every time I walk in my house, knowing I know people who make all this amazing art and writing.
posted by ActionPopulated at 9:56 PM on October 15, 2016 [8 favorites]
Here's a broad view of the largest wall of zines.
Here are some of the pieces. That last picture features two zines by mefi's own bile and syntax!
There are zines in there by friends, partners, ex-partners, people I don't know well but whose work I admire a hell of a lot. Some of the strings are grouped by author, some thematically, some just associated in my head because I bought them all at the same time/place. It makes me happy every time I walk in my house, knowing I know people who make all this amazing art and writing.
posted by ActionPopulated at 9:56 PM on October 15, 2016 [8 favorites]
There are a number of spaces/images in our house that qualify as art... largely photographs taken by my wife or myself. But, the images that are most powerful are those captured when the pup and I walk outside in the morning..... two days ago, outside our front door.... I guess the question is, does it has to be in a frame, or is the view out the window qualify it as "art"...
posted by HuronBob at 10:13 PM on October 15, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by HuronBob at 10:13 PM on October 15, 2016 [6 favorites]
This painting was done for me by a friend back in 2005, from a picture I printed off for her. Am very happy that I managed to bring it on the Eurostar to Paris on one of my trips home.
posted by ellieBOA at 10:47 PM on October 15, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by ellieBOA at 10:47 PM on October 15, 2016 [3 favorites]
How could I forget the prettiest work of art that hangs on my home's wall: My bike!
posted by carsonb at 11:15 PM on October 15, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by carsonb at 11:15 PM on October 15, 2016 [2 favorites]
I still enjoy looking at the carnival mask I bought on a trip to Venice in 1999, and here’s a perfume bottle I have on the mantel.
posted by misteraitch at 2:13 AM on October 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by misteraitch at 2:13 AM on October 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
Oh, what a delightful thread and great stuff people have! I aspire to be mygothlaundry one day. That living room looks awesome!!!
I find it really hard to choose a favourite, but here is my latest addition (apologies for the messy background. Had to remove from wall to avoid glare). It's an original watercolour by these people .
Most of my art is colourful. My very out of date Flickr album is here. *puts "update Flickr album" on her To Do list*
posted by ClarissaWAM at 4:49 AM on October 16, 2016 [6 favorites]
I find it really hard to choose a favourite, but here is my latest addition (apologies for the messy background. Had to remove from wall to avoid glare). It's an original watercolour by these people .
Most of my art is colourful. My very out of date Flickr album is here. *puts "update Flickr album" on her To Do list*
posted by ClarissaWAM at 4:49 AM on October 16, 2016 [6 favorites]
Not home right now, so no photo.
A minimalist Japanese style painting of a red panda lapping water from a pool, with a branch of bamboo.
I find the picture as a whole very calming, maybe because it's so sparse, and the panda is cute as a bonus.
posted by Cozybee at 5:12 AM on October 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
A minimalist Japanese style painting of a red panda lapping water from a pool, with a branch of bamboo.
I find the picture as a whole very calming, maybe because it's so sparse, and the panda is cute as a bonus.
posted by Cozybee at 5:12 AM on October 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
The two ingredients that shape the soul of our living space are its light (main reason we chose this place: nine windows), and the art/craft/design objects that we've chosen to populate it.
We have at least one item per room - and we don't have a lot of things (through the years we were often asked whether we'd just moved in), so the ones we do have (and hold on to) tend to carry a whole bunch of story/significance. Here are our main feticci:
- in the entrance, a foursome wall-lamp from a fleamarket in Florence.
- a green plate from Vietri ceramist Enzo Rispoli, in our guest bathroom.
- in our kitchen/dining room: a non-Picasso, from the film set of a "modern art museum" scene that got us sued by the Picasso estate (we lost); a Thonet high-chair (now outgrown); a dentist's cabinet (from a German medical-appliance factory implicated in forced wartime labour, my one family heirloom); a raku-fired ash-urn (or so its creator called it) honouring hunted boars; another small contemporary Vietri plate (for us, it's a self-portrait of the artist and his brothers), and an "R" side-table (another fleamarket bargain, chosen for the letter, and that we've so far only half-restored, which turned out to have an interesting design story).
- two Rapaccini prints (light relief from our ponderous bookshelves); a Deco mirror and a kidneys table (which we love really just for their shapes), plus lots more ceramics (from a variety of artists).
- a vintage, papered mannequin ("Guendalina", to us), our seashell&urchin collection from summers around the Mediterranean, and a dresser from a NY fleamarket (with, yes, more ceramics).
- a garage-sale chandelier in the bathroom.
(The kids' room, apart from being their sphere to populate, is currently off-limits.)
posted by progosk at 5:43 AM on October 16, 2016 [15 favorites]
We have at least one item per room - and we don't have a lot of things (through the years we were often asked whether we'd just moved in), so the ones we do have (and hold on to) tend to carry a whole bunch of story/significance. Here are our main feticci:
- in the entrance, a foursome wall-lamp from a fleamarket in Florence.
- a green plate from Vietri ceramist Enzo Rispoli, in our guest bathroom.
- in our kitchen/dining room: a non-Picasso, from the film set of a "modern art museum" scene that got us sued by the Picasso estate (we lost); a Thonet high-chair (now outgrown); a dentist's cabinet (from a German medical-appliance factory implicated in forced wartime labour, my one family heirloom); a raku-fired ash-urn (or so its creator called it) honouring hunted boars; another small contemporary Vietri plate (for us, it's a self-portrait of the artist and his brothers), and an "R" side-table (another fleamarket bargain, chosen for the letter, and that we've so far only half-restored, which turned out to have an interesting design story).
- two Rapaccini prints (light relief from our ponderous bookshelves); a Deco mirror and a kidneys table (which we love really just for their shapes), plus lots more ceramics (from a variety of artists).
- a vintage, papered mannequin ("Guendalina", to us), our seashell&urchin collection from summers around the Mediterranean, and a dresser from a NY fleamarket (with, yes, more ceramics).
- a garage-sale chandelier in the bathroom.
(The kids' room, apart from being their sphere to populate, is currently off-limits.)
posted by progosk at 5:43 AM on October 16, 2016 [15 favorites]
I don't have a photo at the moment, but a few years ago when I was working in facilities management at a hospital, I found a poster of an echocardiogram that someone was throwing away - it's one of those things that looks like it was free with a Philips echo machine. It has a beautiful 3-d rendering of a heart, and undeneath a bunch of pictures of diagnostic tests. With echo solutions for comprehensive heart failure management.
posted by janepanic at 6:52 AM on October 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by janepanic at 6:52 AM on October 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
My all-time favorite thing is this engraved plaque given to me by one of my ESOL students. Amongst my favorites are these mementos of travel. Here's a bigger pic of the glass spider.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:38 AM on October 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:38 AM on October 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
I've been able to put together a kind of cool mini collection of primate/science art, in part because my great grandfather was a nature photographer and illustrator (and super dashing). My parents have some pieces they're saving for me until I get a real job with a semi-permanent residence, but I have his drawing of these bears, and a mermoose. This summer I met Stephen Nash (the primate illustrator of all primate illustrators) and bought a print of the Diana monkey superfamily. I haven't yet gotten it framed - I think I need to do it more expensively than I can afford - but man, it's gorgeous. It fits in well with my other primate art: a Diana monkey, a kind of psychedelic gorilla, and my undergraduate advisor's drawings of molars and West Turkana which I was given when he passed away.
posted by ChuraChura at 8:27 AM on October 16, 2016 [11 favorites]
posted by ChuraChura at 8:27 AM on October 16, 2016 [11 favorites]
Love the mermoose, ChuraChura.
posted by soundguy99 at 8:45 AM on October 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by soundguy99 at 8:45 AM on October 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
I hung this lovely handmade tapestry over the wall just opposite my front door so I see it first thing when I walk into my house. It's wonderfully detailed. It came straight from India courtesy of fellow MeFite maya, and I'm kind of forever in her debt for being so kind.
posted by Ufez Jones at 9:04 AM on October 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by Ufez Jones at 9:04 AM on October 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
I also like this little angel that I have on my bookcase. Totally not my style of art, but she was a Christmas gift from one of my earliest therapy clients, and the design is called "The Angel of Caring," and she tilts her head the way I do when listening to clients (though without the hands-under-chin thing; that would be weird). And my cats decided at some point that she was a toy and they knocked her off the bookshelf onto the tile floor, which decapitated her, and I had to epoxy her head back on. So she has a chip on her forehead, and a bit of a scar at her neckline, and her wire wings are always a bit askew, but she's still there, caring, which is just about the best visual metaphor for therapy -- as a client or a therapist -- that I've seen. So she makes me happy, too.
posted by lazuli at 9:16 AM on October 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by lazuli at 9:16 AM on October 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
After nearly a decade of living here I think our front room is nearly the way I want it.
posted by The Whelk at 9:41 AM on October 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 9:41 AM on October 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
(Oh and art specicslly a self portrait by Matt Boors, a Kate Beaton sketch of Oscar Wilde)
posted by The Whelk at 9:43 AM on October 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 9:43 AM on October 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
It always makes me sad when I visit someone and they have bare walls. I personally cover my walls so deep that I often consider attaching art to the ceiling (I haven't... yet). Anyway, I have a large collection of art, and here are a few selected pieces from my old Flickr account (that I can't seem to sign into currently, strange). Note that I don't still have all of them, some now belong to the fine people of the Great State of South Carolina (a story I recounted here), and others have been gifted to various individuals, but my collection still manages to grow and consume empty wall space. From where I'm sitting now, I can see a Haitian sequined voudoun flag, a rooster made out of the top of a 55 gallon oil drum, a signed Howard Finster print, a few lithographs I helped Brain Rutenberg create and paintings, prints, and sculptures gifted to me by many of my creative friends. If I can figure out out to get back into my flickr account, I may post some new pics of my current home and collection.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 9:45 AM on October 16, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by 1f2frfbf at 9:45 AM on October 16, 2016 [6 favorites]
This is a 12" Doulton Lambeth art pottery vase, designed and decorated by Eliza Simmance, probably sometime around the turn of the last century. I have several pieces of Doulton Lambeth pottery, but this one is my favourite.
posted by Mary Ellen Carter at 9:59 AM on October 16, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by Mary Ellen Carter at 9:59 AM on October 16, 2016 [7 favorites]
Well, Flickr is being petty with me today, so here's a quickie imgur album of some of my favorite things. I seem to have misplaced my wide-angle lens, so these are taken with my portrait lens, and therefore don't really give a sense of the space, so I can't share my favorite areas like the Hatch Show Print collection in the breakfast nook, or the utilitarian pottery on my kitchen cabinets. Sorry about that. You'll just have to come visit, I guess.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 10:28 AM on October 16, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by 1f2frfbf at 10:28 AM on October 16, 2016 [7 favorites]
The first 4 images in this album are
1.) My favorite bookcases
2.) Art over my kitchen table (Pansy watercolor and two photographs of my garden fence.)
3.) My favorite landscape photograph was taken on the Neuse River greenway this spring when we were biking with the dog. The computer monitor doesn't do justice to the heavenly blue sky.
4.) An untitled oil painting I did last year.
We have so much art work in our house-- every wall has at least one picture or painting-- but this represents my tastes pretty well.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 11:30 AM on October 16, 2016 [6 favorites]
1.) My favorite bookcases
2.) Art over my kitchen table (Pansy watercolor and two photographs of my garden fence.)
3.) My favorite landscape photograph was taken on the Neuse River greenway this spring when we were biking with the dog. The computer monitor doesn't do justice to the heavenly blue sky.
4.) An untitled oil painting I did last year.
We have so much art work in our house-- every wall has at least one picture or painting-- but this represents my tastes pretty well.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 11:30 AM on October 16, 2016 [6 favorites]
This was my prettiest succulent flower while I lived in England.
This is my favourite photo of my cat.
This brick makes me happy.
posted by srboisvert at 12:12 PM on October 16, 2016 [10 favorites]
This is my favourite photo of my cat.
This brick makes me happy.
posted by srboisvert at 12:12 PM on October 16, 2016 [10 favorites]
I have one of NASA's Visions of the Future posters next to a low-poly papercraft triceratops skull. The poster is from this FPP and is actually a misprint (if you look closely you can see the errors I've circled in red pen; the "good version" of the print hangs on my brother's wall). I made the triceratops by following this pattern shared by gedelgo, and it casts interesting shadows on the wall when lit from below. (To the left you can see the corner of the pegboard holding all my rulers, tape, charging cables, pens, etc that sits over my desk, because I think that a well-organized pegboard is a sort of artwork in its own right.)
posted by btfreek at 12:19 PM on October 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by btfreek at 12:19 PM on October 16, 2016 [4 favorites]
Once in a while I manage to take a good picture:
Juvenile Female Coopers Hawk in my neighbors front yard
Eclipse from a few years ago
Bison in Yellowstone
Big Horn Sheep in Yellowstone
posted by Confess, Fletch at 12:53 PM on October 16, 2016 [6 favorites]
Juvenile Female Coopers Hawk in my neighbors front yard
Eclipse from a few years ago
Bison in Yellowstone
Big Horn Sheep in Yellowstone
posted by Confess, Fletch at 12:53 PM on October 16, 2016 [6 favorites]
There's this spindly cactus-like succulent on our window sill and a spider plant growing next to it. The spider plant is growing all its babies supported by the succulent. I like the way they're entangled.
posted by aniola at 1:22 PM on October 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by aniola at 1:22 PM on October 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
The plants in this picture are some kalanchoe cuttings I saved from a trash can at work in March, neglected for 5 or 6 weeks (seriously, I just threw them on the corner of my desk and forgot about them), and then stuck into a pot with some dirt in late April. Now they've grown so much I had to trim them back myself, and they're blooming. I affectionately call them the Trash Succulents.
This little corner of our bookcase has some scientific illustrations I framed from an 1920s encyclopedia, a Quentin Blake postcard of Darwin my mom sent me, and an elephant my husband made out of telephone wire in his youth. I always tell people he made it as a kid, and he always corrects me sheepishly to explain that in fact, he was 18 at the time. It is lopsidedly awesome.
posted by deludingmyself at 2:29 PM on October 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
This little corner of our bookcase has some scientific illustrations I framed from an 1920s encyclopedia, a Quentin Blake postcard of Darwin my mom sent me, and an elephant my husband made out of telephone wire in his youth. I always tell people he made it as a kid, and he always corrects me sheepishly to explain that in fact, he was 18 at the time. It is lopsidedly awesome.
posted by deludingmyself at 2:29 PM on October 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
"This brick makes me happy."
WHERE CAN I ACQUIRE A HAPPY FACE BRICK????
"I have one of NASA's Visions of the Future posters next to a low-poly papercraft triceratops skull."
I had a bunch of those printed up as a composite poster for my space-crazy kindergartener. It hangs over his bed. (We just had it printed at Walgreens, no super-fancy design involved!)
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 4:55 PM on October 16, 2016 [6 favorites]
WHERE CAN I ACQUIRE A HAPPY FACE BRICK????
"I have one of NASA's Visions of the Future posters next to a low-poly papercraft triceratops skull."
I had a bunch of those printed up as a composite poster for my space-crazy kindergartener. It hangs over his bed. (We just had it printed at Walgreens, no super-fancy design involved!)
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 4:55 PM on October 16, 2016 [6 favorites]
I've had this wonderful map my entire life (grandmother was a travel agent) that was from Air France. I need to get a high quality imaging done. And travel to all those exotic places.
posted by sammyo at 5:30 PM on October 16, 2016 [11 favorites]
posted by sammyo at 5:30 PM on October 16, 2016 [11 favorites]
I have kind of fallen out of Doing Arts lately but I Did An Art recently for the first time in forever and here it is! (It's a collage with an art postcard and some postage stamps and stickers.)
posted by capricorn at 5:31 PM on October 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by capricorn at 5:31 PM on October 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
Oh this is for art we have rather than art we did, oops! Well, here are my DC Outside posters from the Potomac Conservancy.
posted by capricorn at 5:34 PM on October 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by capricorn at 5:34 PM on October 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
Wow, you people have some great stuff.
posted by bongo_x at 7:04 PM on October 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by bongo_x at 7:04 PM on October 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
(I've thought of posting a bikecheck Meta before but balked on it when thinking about the various politics of such a thing.)
I'd be all over a "show us your bicycle" thread, personally, because my bicycle is in storage in another state and I have been missing it.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:40 PM on October 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
I'd be all over a "show us your bicycle" thread, personally, because my bicycle is in storage in another state and I have been missing it.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:40 PM on October 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
"Wow, you people have some great stuff."
One of the thing I love about art is that you CAN spend very large quantities of money on it, but with high-quality prints and local artists and student artists and emerging artists you can also buy beautiful things very inexpensively. You can acquire beauty for your home for $10 or $10,000! And beauty is so idiosyncratic, people's ideas and desires are so diverse!
And that's not even starting on design and the beautiful everyday functional objects you can acquire.
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 7:43 PM on October 16, 2016 [6 favorites]
One of the thing I love about art is that you CAN spend very large quantities of money on it, but with high-quality prints and local artists and student artists and emerging artists you can also buy beautiful things very inexpensively. You can acquire beauty for your home for $10 or $10,000! And beauty is so idiosyncratic, people's ideas and desires are so diverse!
And that's not even starting on design and the beautiful everyday functional objects you can acquire.
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 7:43 PM on October 16, 2016 [6 favorites]
Oh, sammyo, that's fantastic. Do you know how old that map is? I'm curious about all the routes within Madagascar! Also interesting to see the cities being served in East Africa - Khartoum, Nairobi, Dar Es Salaam ... and the giant network of flights in francophone West Africa. What a fantastic thing to have!
posted by ChuraChura at 7:50 PM on October 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by ChuraChura at 7:50 PM on October 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
One of the thing I love about art is that you CAN spend very large quantities of money on it, but with high-quality prints and local artists and student artists and emerging artists you can also buy beautiful things very inexpensively.
I was going to say "I'll have to quit judging you all so harshly" but didn't think my humor would be appreciated.
That's how I get stuff, and the internet has been great for connecting with artists and discovering things. All my art and junk is in storage right now so I'm sad and wistful viewing everyone else's.
posted by bongo_x at 8:40 PM on October 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
I was going to say "I'll have to quit judging you all so harshly" but didn't think my humor would be appreciated.
That's how I get stuff, and the internet has been great for connecting with artists and discovering things. All my art and junk is in storage right now so I'm sad and wistful viewing everyone else's.
posted by bongo_x at 8:40 PM on October 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
I'm in the midst of moving so everything's in a box or whatever, but the last thing to come down was this ...
posted by philip-random at 12:00 AM on October 17, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by philip-random at 12:00 AM on October 17, 2016 [2 favorites]
It may be unusual as art, but what is making me happy and keeping me sane lately is yarn. Some of it is art in its own right, these three are examples of that. Especially the one in the bowl.
The other side of yarn is what you can make with it. It is full of potential. Even the cheapest yarn can be made into something that brings joy, if only in the making of it. This whole bin of yarn (with the project I just started) will give me many more hours of creative pleasure than the three above, and cheap acrylics last forever. It is hard to be whimsical with it when one skein of awesome costs as much as a dozen of fun.
This astounding piece lives on a shelf in my living room, and I smile every time I see it. I won Fake Internet Prizes for it!
posted by monopas at 12:33 AM on October 17, 2016 [5 favorites]
The other side of yarn is what you can make with it. It is full of potential. Even the cheapest yarn can be made into something that brings joy, if only in the making of it. This whole bin of yarn (with the project I just started) will give me many more hours of creative pleasure than the three above, and cheap acrylics last forever. It is hard to be whimsical with it when one skein of awesome costs as much as a dozen of fun.
This astounding piece lives on a shelf in my living room, and I smile every time I see it. I won Fake Internet Prizes for it!
posted by monopas at 12:33 AM on October 17, 2016 [5 favorites]
My garden. It looks scraggly because it is! This spring, bunches of wild French basil started sprouting, and I thought, "eh, I'll see how it goes." Roundabouts August they were gigantic and the garden looked wild, but it smelled so lovely! French basil has a minty-tangy-basil scent. I nearly lopped off the flowering tops, but... spotted some fat bumblebees trundling around on them. A few days later, while cat-spotting, I realized I heard a thick buzzing sound. Sure enough, there were dozens upon dozens of honeybees and bumblebees happily tending to the flowering basil. And so they remained whole, until they started wilting and no more bees came.
By then the tomatoes I'd planted had fused with overgrown grass, so when I pruned the fading French basil plants, I was left with the garden you see there. There are tomatoes in there, you just can't see them. There are also two cats outside the frame. Every time I look at the garden now, I'm happy not only for the plants, but for how they nourished so many bees and have kept my little carnivores happy in their hunting-play.
Inside? The Érard piano I found in the street *grin*
My favorite poster is still in Nice – Air France's winged seahorse in a prop plane. About the AF seahorse. I grew up loving airplanes and wanted to join the US Air Force to become a pilot and then an astronaut (of course!!!). Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on point of view, my eyesight is crap, so I went with foreign languages. That way I could fly in planes around the world and talk to people. My brother loved planes too, and became a flight mechanic. And hey, the foreign languages and travelling eventually meant that I worked at Air France for several years! This poster reminds me of all that and brings it together in clean, simple lines reminiscent of Art Deco.
posted by fraula at 1:21 AM on October 17, 2016 [8 favorites]
By then the tomatoes I'd planted had fused with overgrown grass, so when I pruned the fading French basil plants, I was left with the garden you see there. There are tomatoes in there, you just can't see them. There are also two cats outside the frame. Every time I look at the garden now, I'm happy not only for the plants, but for how they nourished so many bees and have kept my little carnivores happy in their hunting-play.
Inside? The Érard piano I found in the street *grin*
My favorite poster is still in Nice – Air France's winged seahorse in a prop plane. About the AF seahorse. I grew up loving airplanes and wanted to join the US Air Force to become a pilot and then an astronaut (of course!!!). Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on point of view, my eyesight is crap, so I went with foreign languages. That way I could fly in planes around the world and talk to people. My brother loved planes too, and became a flight mechanic. And hey, the foreign languages and travelling eventually meant that I worked at Air France for several years! This poster reminds me of all that and brings it together in clean, simple lines reminiscent of Art Deco.
posted by fraula at 1:21 AM on October 17, 2016 [8 favorites]
I love this thread!
Here are my two favorite paintings, small (5"x7") oils that my mom brought me from Ukraine. She is friends with the artist and I have several more of his paintings, but these two are my favorites.
posted by lollymccatburglar at 2:04 AM on October 17, 2016 [4 favorites]
Here are my two favorite paintings, small (5"x7") oils that my mom brought me from Ukraine. She is friends with the artist and I have several more of his paintings, but these two are my favorites.
posted by lollymccatburglar at 2:04 AM on October 17, 2016 [4 favorites]
We have some wonderful art including some paintings we love.
We also have some paintings by Mrs. Wombat. It feels a little too personal to share that here, though.
When I'm really looking for beauty, I photograph nature. Mostly birds.
It makes me happy.
posted by Combat Wombat at 3:54 AM on October 17, 2016 [4 favorites]
We also have some paintings by Mrs. Wombat. It feels a little too personal to share that here, though.
When I'm really looking for beauty, I photograph nature. Mostly birds.
It makes me happy.
posted by Combat Wombat at 3:54 AM on October 17, 2016 [4 favorites]
We've managed to get a few pieces I really love mostly from local galleries in Cambridge - links are mostly to similar pieces rather than my own pictures.
- Andrew Ingamells etching of St Pancras station (I've bought this while living in London in the 90s for what seemed an insanely high price at the time. I still love the level of detail and sheer care that's gone into it)
- Beckie Reed woodland picture - I don't have a good picture of the one we have but a still doesn't do it justice anyway - because parts of the picture are laquered, as the light changes it picks out different parts of the trees
- Simon Griffiths owls - they almost look like they are actually soft, but in fact made of ceramic. The sculpture we have is two owls together. I got this for my wife's 50th birthday after she'd admired it several times - in fact they sold the one we looked at and I managed to commission another one just in time.
posted by crocomancer at 4:40 AM on October 17, 2016 [3 favorites]
- Andrew Ingamells etching of St Pancras station (I've bought this while living in London in the 90s for what seemed an insanely high price at the time. I still love the level of detail and sheer care that's gone into it)
- Beckie Reed woodland picture - I don't have a good picture of the one we have but a still doesn't do it justice anyway - because parts of the picture are laquered, as the light changes it picks out different parts of the trees
- Simon Griffiths owls - they almost look like they are actually soft, but in fact made of ceramic. The sculpture we have is two owls together. I got this for my wife's 50th birthday after she'd admired it several times - in fact they sold the one we looked at and I managed to commission another one just in time.
posted by crocomancer at 4:40 AM on October 17, 2016 [3 favorites]
For some reason, many of our closest friends are artists. And they often leave us with beautiful things.
There's some paintings hanging next to me in my office right now that I adore - a gift from one of my closest friends. But I won't post them here because they are too personal to me.
I wil post two beautiful pieces of ceramic I own by our friend Thomas. They are made with a double-walled technique so they are light to hold, beautiful to behold.
What gives me the greatest joy is looking outside my window. We live on the outskirts of a small village in the English Cotswolds. In a converted mill with a river running underneath it. We hear and see birds all year round. So far we have counted 33 species that we can see and hear. This includes herons, wagtails, ducks, marsh hens, crows, jackdaws, robins, song thrushes, woodpeckers and buzzards.
Probably my favorite bird to watch though is the Dipper that lives in the stream. We've lived here long enough to see several generations of Dippers. We've spotted them as fledglings and watched them emerge from their nests. Our mornings begin with the sound of the Dipper who flies up and down the river, stopping briefly every hundred yards or so and singing to claim his territory.
posted by vacapinta at 4:53 AM on October 17, 2016 [9 favorites]
There's some paintings hanging next to me in my office right now that I adore - a gift from one of my closest friends. But I won't post them here because they are too personal to me.
I wil post two beautiful pieces of ceramic I own by our friend Thomas. They are made with a double-walled technique so they are light to hold, beautiful to behold.
What gives me the greatest joy is looking outside my window. We live on the outskirts of a small village in the English Cotswolds. In a converted mill with a river running underneath it. We hear and see birds all year round. So far we have counted 33 species that we can see and hear. This includes herons, wagtails, ducks, marsh hens, crows, jackdaws, robins, song thrushes, woodpeckers and buzzards.
Probably my favorite bird to watch though is the Dipper that lives in the stream. We've lived here long enough to see several generations of Dippers. We've spotted them as fledglings and watched them emerge from their nests. Our mornings begin with the sound of the Dipper who flies up and down the river, stopping briefly every hundred yards or so and singing to claim his territory.
posted by vacapinta at 4:53 AM on October 17, 2016 [9 favorites]
We have these International Year of Astronomy prints up in our living room. They’re retro and minimalist & also really colorful. I find them cheery and calming. Bonus: They fit neatly in the Venn intersection of mrs. per flower’s modern aesthetic sensibility and my own SF geekery.
posted by miles per flower at 8:15 AM on October 17, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by miles per flower at 8:15 AM on October 17, 2016 [4 favorites]
My husband is a woodworker, specializing in Arts & Crafts furniture.
His work is downright amazing.
Being surrounded with art like this every day is a joy.
then there was the time he remodeled our kitchen on his own, and when it came time to do the hardwood floor, HE CUT AND SANDED AND TRIMMED EVERY SINGLE 1" WIDE BOARD BY HAND
posted by Lucinda at 8:37 AM on October 17, 2016 [24 favorites]
His work is downright amazing.
Being surrounded with art like this every day is a joy.
then there was the time he remodeled our kitchen on his own, and when it came time to do the hardwood floor, HE CUT AND SANDED AND TRIMMED EVERY SINGLE 1" WIDE BOARD BY HAND
posted by Lucinda at 8:37 AM on October 17, 2016 [24 favorites]
Whoa those Year of Astronomy prints are SO COOL. I also clicked on srboisvert's brick because I wondered what kind of brick could make one happy; did not disappoint.
My favorite thing in my living space right now is this print that lives in the bathroom, because I am into astrology so help me God, and I like and identify with my sign, but whenever people illustrate the zodiac they tend to give no love to the humble crab. So when I saw this one I had to have it.
I love this thread! I'm in the midst of cozifying my space so I like seeing what makes other people happy in their homes.
I was going to say "I'll have to quit judging you all so harshly" but didn't think my humor would be appreciated.
I mean, it's true. It's hard to be GRAR at people when you are appreciating cool art objects together!
posted by sunset in snow country at 8:41 AM on October 17, 2016 [5 favorites]
My favorite thing in my living space right now is this print that lives in the bathroom, because I am into astrology so help me God, and I like and identify with my sign, but whenever people illustrate the zodiac they tend to give no love to the humble crab. So when I saw this one I had to have it.
I love this thread! I'm in the midst of cozifying my space so I like seeing what makes other people happy in their homes.
I was going to say "I'll have to quit judging you all so harshly" but didn't think my humor would be appreciated.
I mean, it's true. It's hard to be GRAR at people when you are appreciating cool art objects together!
posted by sunset in snow country at 8:41 AM on October 17, 2016 [5 favorites]
(Not having actual photos of the artwork I own on hand, I'm linking to versions online.)
Artwork that most MeFites will love:
Cat hiding in basket linocut print by Baba Pease.
Artwork most recently acquired:
'To Life' woodcut, by Irving Amen.
I have a lot of work by Jacques Hnizdovsky, but this exhibition poster woodcut print (I have a cleaner copy) is probably my favorite.
posted by Kabanos at 10:15 AM on October 17, 2016 [2 favorites]
Artwork that most MeFites will love:
Cat hiding in basket linocut print by Baba Pease.
Artwork most recently acquired:
'To Life' woodcut, by Irving Amen.
I have a lot of work by Jacques Hnizdovsky, but this exhibition poster woodcut print (I have a cleaner copy) is probably my favorite.
posted by Kabanos at 10:15 AM on October 17, 2016 [2 favorites]
Sounds fun.
This is what I tend to do when I get in front of a canvas.
This is what I tend to do when I get my iPad in my hands (and is how I feel when in front of a canvas.)
posted by Thorzdad at 1:19 PM on October 17, 2016 [2 favorites]
This is what I tend to do when I get in front of a canvas.
This is what I tend to do when I get my iPad in my hands (and is how I feel when in front of a canvas.)
posted by Thorzdad at 1:19 PM on October 17, 2016 [2 favorites]
I have a whole bunch of framed images of creepy English folk festivals, such as this one. It's sort of my life goal to live each day like I am inside one of these images.
posted by maxsparber at 2:35 PM on October 17, 2016 [9 favorites]
posted by maxsparber at 2:35 PM on October 17, 2016 [9 favorites]
I live a few blocks away from the late illustrator Charley Harper's home studio and I bought a few of his older silkscreens from Rena, the studio manager, just after he died. They were kind of expensive (at least for me) but they make me happy every time I walk through my living room.
Painted Bunting
Indigo Bunting
Cardinal
BTW, I absolutely love this thread.
posted by codex99 at 4:15 PM on October 17, 2016 [9 favorites]
Painted Bunting
Indigo Bunting
Cardinal
BTW, I absolutely love this thread.
posted by codex99 at 4:15 PM on October 17, 2016 [9 favorites]
I have been trying to paint for the last eight or nine years. I'm very slow - I've been doing about one or two a year. I particularly like this one.
posted by gt2 at 6:03 PM on October 17, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by gt2 at 6:03 PM on October 17, 2016 [3 favorites]
I got a smallish print of this painting a couple months ago and I kind of love it.
posted by valrus at 6:32 PM on October 17, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by valrus at 6:32 PM on October 17, 2016 [5 favorites]
Several years ago I took a bookbinding class and make a Beastiary of Robots. I drew some stuff, some friends drew some stuff, some mildly famous people drew some stuff.
None of these live with me any more, but I embroidered some stuff, including some capybaras and portraits of the various members of The Mountain Goats.
My coffee table is #6 on this Mental Floss list of ways to repurpose card catalogs.
posted by MsMolly at 9:24 PM on October 17, 2016 [5 favorites]
None of these live with me any more, but I embroidered some stuff, including some capybaras and portraits of the various members of The Mountain Goats.
My coffee table is #6 on this Mental Floss list of ways to repurpose card catalogs.
posted by MsMolly at 9:24 PM on October 17, 2016 [5 favorites]
I just made a splurge purchase at Lie-Nielsen tools to get some of the final handtools to put me near the finish line, of the beginning at least, of my woodworking needs. I also snagged some really great looking books from their educational section.
LN makes some really wonderful things and I'm pumped to get them so that I can build MsEld a set of bookshelves for her new office. I'm thinking of basing it on the Monticello Bookcases that Jefferson used to start things off right. It'll be my first foray into dovetails. Plenty to handcut there I think. Wish me luck!
posted by RolandOfEld at 9:37 PM on October 17, 2016 [1 favorite]
LN makes some really wonderful things and I'm pumped to get them so that I can build MsEld a set of bookshelves for her new office. I'm thinking of basing it on the Monticello Bookcases that Jefferson used to start things off right. It'll be my first foray into dovetails. Plenty to handcut there I think. Wish me luck!
posted by RolandOfEld at 9:37 PM on October 17, 2016 [1 favorite]
I've put all mine in one post, in which you will find:
Pictures of a dog and a woman looking out at water:
I bought the print on the left from the office-stuff of someone I worked with who died. His widow was selling his books and things he had in his office. The picture on the right I bought in a gallery in Provincetown. It reminded me so much of the woman (it's not that visible in the pic, but the dog's collar really echos the woman's belt), that I thought they would work well together.
Granpa's Watercolours
These original watercolours of the city where my parents are from used to hang in my grandfather's study. After he died my aunt gave them to me. Now they hang in my bedroom. They look crooked in the pic, but they're not!
Prints by Cuban Artist Carlos Guzman
1. One of eight prints by the artist Carlos Guzman that I bought on vacation in Cuba. I imagine the woman is just toying with her boat-hat, and at any second she can give the anchor a little tug and send the sailor flying. They prints were outrageously cheap. I think it was ~10 for the package of 8 prints. The ikea frames cost way more.
2. Another print from the same set.
3. And a third print. I love this woman scientist in the inspector gadget hat.
Richard Hoedl "Life in Progress" Canvas Print
While looking for the title of a Lawren Harris painting I love, I ran across this. I googled Lawren harris paintings and looked at the image files to find the one I wanted to know about, and this was one of the images that came up. It's obviously not Lawren Harris, though his influence is clear. Anyway, I loved it and dreamed about it for months before ordering a print on canvas.
Picture of Dolls
I took this picture of dolls in a market while travelling. This hangs in my solarium, and I needed something from there that I wouldn't mind having fade -- to buy expensive art and put it in my solarium to fade would suck. So I figured a pic I had taken myself I could always re-print.
Dog Portraits
I commissioned these original oil portraits of my dogs dressed in period costumes. No, I'm not kidding.
Lego Province Pictures
These lego portraits of each province were posted on the Blue some time ago. I loved them and bought a full set. I have this one in a 5x7 (plus frame) and the other twelve on the opposite wall in post-card sizes.
Book in a Frame
This is an actual book. It was a gift. It's a history of the city that my parents come from starting 15,000 years ago until the present, as told by a hummingbird. Inside each page is a painting, in addition to the text. Apparently all the original paintings were done on sheepskin, so it has this yellowish tone. Anyway, the book is way too big to fit on any bookshelf, so I had it framed. I can unscrew the corners to look at the book if I want. There's a sideview of the book/frame that shows how it's set up. Basically, a frame with a black fabric-covered back-board. There are little corner pieces screwed into the bakcboard that hold each corner of the book.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 10:22 PM on October 17, 2016 [9 favorites]
Pictures of a dog and a woman looking out at water:
I bought the print on the left from the office-stuff of someone I worked with who died. His widow was selling his books and things he had in his office. The picture on the right I bought in a gallery in Provincetown. It reminded me so much of the woman (it's not that visible in the pic, but the dog's collar really echos the woman's belt), that I thought they would work well together.
Granpa's Watercolours
These original watercolours of the city where my parents are from used to hang in my grandfather's study. After he died my aunt gave them to me. Now they hang in my bedroom. They look crooked in the pic, but they're not!
Prints by Cuban Artist Carlos Guzman
1. One of eight prints by the artist Carlos Guzman that I bought on vacation in Cuba. I imagine the woman is just toying with her boat-hat, and at any second she can give the anchor a little tug and send the sailor flying. They prints were outrageously cheap. I think it was ~10 for the package of 8 prints. The ikea frames cost way more.
2. Another print from the same set.
3. And a third print. I love this woman scientist in the inspector gadget hat.
Richard Hoedl "Life in Progress" Canvas Print
While looking for the title of a Lawren Harris painting I love, I ran across this. I googled Lawren harris paintings and looked at the image files to find the one I wanted to know about, and this was one of the images that came up. It's obviously not Lawren Harris, though his influence is clear. Anyway, I loved it and dreamed about it for months before ordering a print on canvas.
Picture of Dolls
I took this picture of dolls in a market while travelling. This hangs in my solarium, and I needed something from there that I wouldn't mind having fade -- to buy expensive art and put it in my solarium to fade would suck. So I figured a pic I had taken myself I could always re-print.
Dog Portraits
I commissioned these original oil portraits of my dogs dressed in period costumes. No, I'm not kidding.
Lego Province Pictures
These lego portraits of each province were posted on the Blue some time ago. I loved them and bought a full set. I have this one in a 5x7 (plus frame) and the other twelve on the opposite wall in post-card sizes.
Book in a Frame
This is an actual book. It was a gift. It's a history of the city that my parents come from starting 15,000 years ago until the present, as told by a hummingbird. Inside each page is a painting, in addition to the text. Apparently all the original paintings were done on sheepskin, so it has this yellowish tone. Anyway, the book is way too big to fit on any bookshelf, so I had it framed. I can unscrew the corners to look at the book if I want. There's a sideview of the book/frame that shows how it's set up. Basically, a frame with a black fabric-covered back-board. There are little corner pieces screwed into the bakcboard that hold each corner of the book.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 10:22 PM on October 17, 2016 [9 favorites]
I collect old snapshots. There was an article in the Atlantic recently about snapshot collectors and one of the interview subjects spoke about how you don't always know what you're looking for, but you know when you find it. I just received a job lot of photos in the mail and this one gave me that aha! moment. There's nothing remarkable about the couple or the scenery, nor is there any way they could have known in 1935, when the photo was taken, what would happen in Wilhelmshaven, but there is something arresting about the photo. Every photo in my collection is like a doorway to hundreds of possible stories and I love looking at them and noticing new things each time.
posted by atropos at 10:39 PM on October 17, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by atropos at 10:39 PM on October 17, 2016 [2 favorites]
Is this one yours, atropos? I think that's my favourite I see there. I notice no wedding rings, so two couples on a double date, presumably.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 11:00 PM on October 17, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 11:00 PM on October 17, 2016 [2 favorites]
I just moved to India and have none of my favourite things at hand, but here's a photo of three cups: The first is from a tibetan refugee settlement in south India, the second a coconut cup from the maldives, and the third is a clay/terracotta cup
posted by dhruva at 11:01 PM on October 17, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by dhruva at 11:01 PM on October 17, 2016 [4 favorites]
If only I had a penguin... -- Yes, that's another one from the same lot! I think you're right about it being two young couples.
posted by atropos at 11:45 PM on October 17, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by atropos at 11:45 PM on October 17, 2016 [1 favorite]
My screensaver, which I'm in the process of turning into an embroidered image, is a poem my daughter wrote in first grade. (I'm on the fence re whether or not to correct her spelling.)
Flowers
Flowers look beautiful.
They smell spring too.
Flowers don't have electricity like we do.
You don't half [sic] to be a flower to smell like spring.
The End
posted by she's not there at 1:27 AM on October 18, 2016 [3 favorites]
Flowers
Flowers look beautiful.
They smell spring too.
Flowers don't have electricity like we do.
You don't half [sic] to be a flower to smell like spring.
The End
posted by she's not there at 1:27 AM on October 18, 2016 [3 favorites]
Burhanistan: the one time I said out loud that a WaterRower was too beautiful to keep in a closet (especially when folded), I was given such a look that I never repeated it. Unfortunately, the same can't be said of the Stamina air rower that fills a significant piece of available acerage in my small living room, in addition to a sizable chunk of my leisure time.
Huronbob: forgive the cliche, but I gasped out loud when I clicked on ...two days ago, outside our front door, which is not something I'm prone to do when browsing the 'net by myself at 4:00 am. May you always have such ready access to beauty.
posted by she's not there at 2:10 AM on October 18, 2016 [3 favorites]
Huronbob: forgive the cliche, but I gasped out loud when I clicked on ...two days ago, outside our front door, which is not something I'm prone to do when browsing the 'net by myself at 4:00 am. May you always have such ready access to beauty.
posted by she's not there at 2:10 AM on October 18, 2016 [3 favorites]
I have some lovely visual art in my space. I'm not enough of a decorator to do it justice. Also, I like Lego and pinball machines and cat-proof drapes, so I'll never make the pages of any design magazine. But I do love beauty, and I like multi-sensory expressions of it. Here's a couple of my favorite examples, in an admittedly crappy photo.
Beautiful and functional: my harp. https://instagram.com/p/h7NVWtQkWZ/ I'm an adult-onset musician, still stumbling along after years of lessons. But if you want to know what it SHOULD sound like, it's the same model Aryeh is playing in this youtube video: https://youtu.be/O0rFiMOvZIA
I bought Aryeh and Lisa's Two Worlds One album based on that song, and that music pouring through a room is an instant beautifier.
But a harp, in person, sets the air trembling. If you hold one against your body, the vibrations are powerful and deeply moving. Sometimes I take mine outside and let the wind play it. It's eerie and lovely and makes you long for places that have never been.
And on the table behind the harp, my Jadeite tea cup. It was given to me by my little sister, who haunted antique stores looking for just the right one. Our mom, who died when we were still children, took her beloved tea from a very similar cup. It's evocative of many kinds of warmth. When I wrap my hands around it, I can summon a long-ago morning. But also it makes me think of and appreciate my sister, and the beauty of an act of giving.
posted by Nancy_LockIsLit_Palmer at 2:47 AM on October 18, 2016 [3 favorites]
Beautiful and functional: my harp. https://instagram.com/p/h7NVWtQkWZ/ I'm an adult-onset musician, still stumbling along after years of lessons. But if you want to know what it SHOULD sound like, it's the same model Aryeh is playing in this youtube video: https://youtu.be/O0rFiMOvZIA
I bought Aryeh and Lisa's Two Worlds One album based on that song, and that music pouring through a room is an instant beautifier.
But a harp, in person, sets the air trembling. If you hold one against your body, the vibrations are powerful and deeply moving. Sometimes I take mine outside and let the wind play it. It's eerie and lovely and makes you long for places that have never been.
And on the table behind the harp, my Jadeite tea cup. It was given to me by my little sister, who haunted antique stores looking for just the right one. Our mom, who died when we were still children, took her beloved tea from a very similar cup. It's evocative of many kinds of warmth. When I wrap my hands around it, I can summon a long-ago morning. But also it makes me think of and appreciate my sister, and the beauty of an act of giving.
posted by Nancy_LockIsLit_Palmer at 2:47 AM on October 18, 2016 [3 favorites]
(Sorry, mods. My links never work when I post from my ipad. User error.)
posted by Nancy_LockIsLit_Palmer at 3:55 AM on October 18, 2016
posted by Nancy_LockIsLit_Palmer at 3:55 AM on October 18, 2016
Well now, HuronBob has inspired me to post the intangible beauty seen from my living room windows.
posted by infini at 4:27 AM on October 18, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by infini at 4:27 AM on October 18, 2016 [2 favorites]
Fixed, Nancy_LockIsLit_Palmer! iPad is a pain for that.
posted by taz (staff) at 6:24 AM on October 18, 2016
posted by taz (staff) at 6:24 AM on October 18, 2016
yesssss, a thread that validates my failure to sell the things I bought for work.
I bought an early 20thc etagere (probably from around 1910) at a flea market a couple of years ago, and it is still the nicest thing I own. Though my 1950s painted child's wardrobe and 1920s set of drawers are close runner-ups.
I have a whole bunch of small collections. The Jadeite is still confined to one shelf, though I'm hitting its limit.
I also have a serious weakness for midcentury paintings, especially portraits and flower paintings. My favorites are the ones that were clearly by skilled amateurs.
I have a little bit of my own work on the walls, too-- this, plus a couple of embroideries.
I also have a few vintage panoramic photos. (thought they live in my office now, in a slightly different configuration)
I buy original art prints from every artists' alley I can, and I got a ton of good ones at Small Press Expo this year that I need to hang up. A few are framed, but most of them are on the stairwell wall, and it's only about half full so I've totally still got room for more.
Also, this hangs in pride of place in the living room.
(this does not even get into the things that aren't 'on display' as such, like the photo album from a 1920s dance studio or the book of 1830s fashion plates. I... might have too much stuff, y'all.)
posted by nonasuch at 6:58 AM on October 18, 2016 [5 favorites]
I bought an early 20thc etagere (probably from around 1910) at a flea market a couple of years ago, and it is still the nicest thing I own. Though my 1950s painted child's wardrobe and 1920s set of drawers are close runner-ups.
I have a whole bunch of small collections. The Jadeite is still confined to one shelf, though I'm hitting its limit.
I also have a serious weakness for midcentury paintings, especially portraits and flower paintings. My favorites are the ones that were clearly by skilled amateurs.
I have a little bit of my own work on the walls, too-- this, plus a couple of embroideries.
I also have a few vintage panoramic photos. (thought they live in my office now, in a slightly different configuration)
I buy original art prints from every artists' alley I can, and I got a ton of good ones at Small Press Expo this year that I need to hang up. A few are framed, but most of them are on the stairwell wall, and it's only about half full so I've totally still got room for more.
Also, this hangs in pride of place in the living room.
(this does not even get into the things that aren't 'on display' as such, like the photo album from a 1920s dance studio or the book of 1830s fashion plates. I... might have too much stuff, y'all.)
posted by nonasuch at 6:58 AM on October 18, 2016 [5 favorites]
Arts are great! Five things I particularly like that we've got hanging in the house:
- Can't Please Everybody by my good friend Wilder, who was the art-and-guitar-guy to my programming-and-guitar-guy around the time we were finishing up high school. This is I think the first time I ever went to an art showing and said "I will buy this art from you".
- Oregon Trail cross-stitch by the rad piratebowling, which appeared in the mail after a half-joking request in a MetaTalk discussion years ago. It's been up in my office ever since.
- Sushi woodcut, a house-warming gift from friends when we made the leap from renters to homeowners eight years ago. Hangs out in the kitchen, near the stove.
- Firefighter portrait, a wee (like 2" x 3") bit of oil crayon art from that same Wilder, from a biking-around-town-with-art-on-a-lanyard event someone staged in town a couple years back. So this little piece has literally gotten around.
- Riker, by The Whelk, after a goofy chat a couple years back when I was still updating Larp Trek; this is based on one of the Riker screencaps I used on a regular basis for that project.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:47 AM on October 18, 2016 [6 favorites]
- Can't Please Everybody by my good friend Wilder, who was the art-and-guitar-guy to my programming-and-guitar-guy around the time we were finishing up high school. This is I think the first time I ever went to an art showing and said "I will buy this art from you".
- Oregon Trail cross-stitch by the rad piratebowling, which appeared in the mail after a half-joking request in a MetaTalk discussion years ago. It's been up in my office ever since.
- Sushi woodcut, a house-warming gift from friends when we made the leap from renters to homeowners eight years ago. Hangs out in the kitchen, near the stove.
- Firefighter portrait, a wee (like 2" x 3") bit of oil crayon art from that same Wilder, from a biking-around-town-with-art-on-a-lanyard event someone staged in town a couple years back. So this little piece has literally gotten around.
- Riker, by The Whelk, after a goofy chat a couple years back when I was still updating Larp Trek; this is based on one of the Riker screencaps I used on a regular basis for that project.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:47 AM on October 18, 2016 [6 favorites]
Here's the wall opposite the kitchen couch. Paintings by friends, submarine drawing by my eldest, collections of small things that we've picked up here and there.
This thread is the best antidote to the times. Thank you.
posted by firstdrop at 3:11 PM on October 18, 2016 [7 favorites]
This thread is the best antidote to the times. Thank you.
posted by firstdrop at 3:11 PM on October 18, 2016 [7 favorites]
My partner bought me this wee owl for Christmas last year (I'm not sure why, I don't have an owl thing going on or anything, but it was included in a package of randomness which is my favourite kind of present). He took up residence on the shelf under the tv and every time he catches my eye he makes me smile. Mainly because the way they did his eyes makes him look really grumpy and his little cross face amuses me. I like to think of him living under the tv tutting about the shite we watch.
posted by billiebee at 4:14 PM on October 18, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by billiebee at 4:14 PM on October 18, 2016 [3 favorites]
I am an artist, and I hang pieces of my own work on my walls (better than putting it all in storage!). This painting of lizards and this mixed media relief puffin are what I currently have hanging in the prime gazing spot across from my dining table but the spot occupied by the puffin piece rotates pretty frequently.
posted by vegartanipla at 5:36 PM on October 18, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by vegartanipla at 5:36 PM on October 18, 2016 [7 favorites]
Crummy pic of one wall of my living room. The big painting is oil on oriented strand board by my grandfather. I didn't realize until adulthood that he had made a bunch of the weird art in his house, including this one which used to hang in his bedroom and is exactly perfectly the colors of my living room. The cartoony beer glass poster is by a local artist and the photograph is a detail of the facade of the building where I used to work, which my bosses gave me when I moved away.
posted by clavicle at 6:18 PM on October 18, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by clavicle at 6:18 PM on October 18, 2016 [2 favorites]
1) Electric Express Plus Vintage 80's does 40s Lit Box Sign I've had this since I was maybe 13? We got it as a furniture store went out of business and I think they got it from a department store. My dad finally brought it to our apartment after it's been in storage for years and hung it for us. It's HUGE. I love the colors and the retro/vintage art deco mixed with electricity look.
2) Super Easy DIY Popsicle Stick Hex Shelves
This project was super simple and I have 6 of them in my dining room. They just look so mid century and the fake succulents make me feel relaxed without having to water something.
3)Really Beautiful (Cheap!) Tattoo Machine
I love tattoos and sometimes tattoo fruit (not people.) This little thing was like $10 I think? I just love the look of it so I keep it on a shelf to just stare it.
4)American Traditional Rose Watercolor
I did this as a collaboration with someone to make jewelry. The original just hits a sweet spot for me in terms of bold mixed with vintage. It's sitting on my dining room buffet cabinet.
Honerable Mention: Halloween Flash!!
I'm super proud of the progress I've made with ink/watercolor and spit shading. I've only been able to do a few pieces in this style but it's addicting. (My Etsy is linked in my profile.)
posted by Crystalinne at 3:08 AM on October 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
2) Super Easy DIY Popsicle Stick Hex Shelves
This project was super simple and I have 6 of them in my dining room. They just look so mid century and the fake succulents make me feel relaxed without having to water something.
3)Really Beautiful (Cheap!) Tattoo Machine
I love tattoos and sometimes tattoo fruit (not people.) This little thing was like $10 I think? I just love the look of it so I keep it on a shelf to just stare it.
4)American Traditional Rose Watercolor
I did this as a collaboration with someone to make jewelry. The original just hits a sweet spot for me in terms of bold mixed with vintage. It's sitting on my dining room buffet cabinet.
Honerable Mention: Halloween Flash!!
I'm super proud of the progress I've made with ink/watercolor and spit shading. I've only been able to do a few pieces in this style but it's addicting. (My Etsy is linked in my profile.)
posted by Crystalinne at 3:08 AM on October 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
I took this photo at breakfast this morning. It's only postcard-sized: I made it last year whilst at a residency in Iceland.
posted by michaelhoney at 3:52 AM on October 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by michaelhoney at 3:52 AM on October 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
My living room walls are covered with my own unsold work I printed for a variety of shows. Sigha.
posted by nevercalm at 6:26 AM on October 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by nevercalm at 6:26 AM on October 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
vegartanipla, that puffin piece is amazing!
posted by lazuli at 6:47 AM on October 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by lazuli at 6:47 AM on October 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
· lots of ms scruss's collages (but no pix, 'cos we have very separate online presences)
· “You Guys Have Just Attacked Kuwait”, by Tony Taylor.
· a Philip Hare piece (just visible behind the multimeter in my Show Us Your Desk 2015 picture)
· a large print of David Barnes' artwork for the Of Montreal album Aldhils Arboretum.
posted by scruss at 10:12 AM on October 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
· “You Guys Have Just Attacked Kuwait”, by Tony Taylor.
· a Philip Hare piece (just visible behind the multimeter in my Show Us Your Desk 2015 picture)
· a large print of David Barnes' artwork for the Of Montreal album Aldhils Arboretum.
posted by scruss at 10:12 AM on October 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Oh glad I found this thread to get a window into everyone's treasures - what fun, perfect for a Friday. mygothlaudry, can I come and live with you?
I collect some native pots, mostly from New Mexico - here are a few. I have them all over - a few on this curio cabinet of pots, Innuit sculptures, little treasures from travels and friends.
This is one of my favorite pieces - it's painted fabric that I bought in South Africa and framed. The art was very inexpensive but omg the framing. My Mom & Dad were very humble and had no savings, but my Mom secreted away a bit before she died and it was my job to surprise her children with some small gifts of cash after she passed, about $500 or $600 each, which we had strict instructions to use for something fun. I bought that frame.
Another piece of African fabric, wonderful birds given to me years ago by a sister - they are always in a central spot in my home. I'm not at home until I hang those birds.
posted by madamjujujive at 12:41 PM on October 21, 2016 [5 favorites]
I collect some native pots, mostly from New Mexico - here are a few. I have them all over - a few on this curio cabinet of pots, Innuit sculptures, little treasures from travels and friends.
This is one of my favorite pieces - it's painted fabric that I bought in South Africa and framed. The art was very inexpensive but omg the framing. My Mom & Dad were very humble and had no savings, but my Mom secreted away a bit before she died and it was my job to surprise her children with some small gifts of cash after she passed, about $500 or $600 each, which we had strict instructions to use for something fun. I bought that frame.
Another piece of African fabric, wonderful birds given to me years ago by a sister - they are always in a central spot in my home. I'm not at home until I hang those birds.
posted by madamjujujive at 12:41 PM on October 21, 2016 [5 favorites]
By far, this. They're not the best pictures (it's a dull day, doesn't capture the glowing colors of each fabric), but this quilt is by far my most beautiful object.
Aside from its inherent beauty, I love its history. (I made it, but I'm proud.) I bought the fabrics while living at Hummingbird House (an intentional community in a small town in Mexico), and carried them down to Mexico from California and New York. I designed it in that small town (it was originally slated to be a wedding gift - a whole other story), and bought a sewing machine in Florida to be able to complete it. I cut and pieced it in Guadalajara. I made a plan to sew the body of the quilt from one corner to the other, to make the basket-weave pattern work. I was about five squares in from my starting corner when I realized that each seam was stretching (bending my triangle into an arc) because I'd designed it on the bias. I ripped out all the stitches, googled some possible solutions and put it aside for awhile.
I flew back to the US (nearly losing the sewing machine to Guadalajara security because it was potentially dangerous - i.e., "heavy with a handle on it" - no lie), drove back to Tucson to volunteer in the desert, back to Mexico (where I unexpectedly lost my residency status, essentially because my car's status didn't match mine - another whole other story), and (2 months later) back to the US and across country to North Carolina.
Where I began again. I asked the lady in the quilting store in my small North Carolina town (more foreign, in some ways, than my small town in Mexico) how I might finish this quilt, and she said, "It's impossible."
Well.
I tried sizing, but it wasn't as strong as I needed - my seams continued to stretch. I bought some plain cotton and cut it into thin strips. I folded each strip the long way, ironed them, cut them, and sandwiched each diagonal one by one. I didn't quite finish in North Carolina - I moved into an Airstream where there was no room to lay out the whole quilt (pretty big by now), and then the holidays were coming and I missed my friends and family in California, so ...
Back to a house on the Central Coast (okay, two houses), where I took the opportunity of a few large floors to fix some glitches and piece the last few squares and borders.
I don't own a long-arm machine, so now I had to find someone to quilt-stitch it for me. A friend gave me the name of someone she'd used (someone I'd actually recommended to her, when she was a year behind with a wedding gift that she couldn't look at anymore, that preyed on her weekends). I drove 200 miles to meet the long-arm quilter, and ... it was clear this was not a good fit.
I made some calls closer to home and was connected with the local quilting guild, which (to maintain their 501(c)(3) status) sews quilts for sick children. The woman running the operation (in a fabric store in Santa Maria) agreed to quilt my quilt for a small donation, which she said they could use to buy more batting. We agreed by phone to the color and stitch pattern, and she told me to come to another town (where the whole group was meeting) the next day to pick it up.
I walked in to a beehive of church ladies in the back room (about 20 of them), cutting, ironing, piecing, sewing ... they admired my new quilt, and I used their tools to cut my binding strips. (My cutting mat had long since warped and melted in my trunk, and I'd lost my measuring grids along the way.)
The last time I made a quilt was just before Proposition 8 passed in California. I didn't know who I'd be giving it to (it was Dupiani silk, and I'd realized it didn't suit my little treehouse apartment), but I knew that I had to finish it, that (I know how this sounds) it wanted to be in this world. I sat on my floor sewing it, thinking over and over again, "Who will I give this to? Why am I making this quilt?" when some old friends called to invite me to their emergency wedding (in the short window when they knew it was legal). This raised the question, "What will I give them?", which then (as I sewed) alternated in rhythm with "Why am I making this quilt?" until I realized that one question was the answer to the other.
As I worked to finish this hummingbird quilt, I had the same question: "Why am I making this quilt?" The wedding (which I never attended) was long past. I'm barely in touch with the people I'd intended it for. I don't have anyone else I'd like to give it to. (There are many people I love, but I can't give a gift this special to just one of them.) And like that old silk quilt in the treehouse, this new quilt doesn't quite suit my travel-light life.
So I kept it (because what else could I do with it?), and packed it away safely while I decided what to do next.
And then suddenly it was clear.
This is my quilt. This is my gift to myself.
And it's the prettiest thing that I own.
(As a side note, I just moved to a household devoted to hummingbirds. I put out 2-1/2 gallons of sugar water this morning, and I'll be hanging 4-1/2 more gallons tonight.)
posted by anshuman at 4:15 PM on October 21, 2016 [8 favorites]
Aside from its inherent beauty, I love its history. (I made it, but I'm proud.) I bought the fabrics while living at Hummingbird House (an intentional community in a small town in Mexico), and carried them down to Mexico from California and New York. I designed it in that small town (it was originally slated to be a wedding gift - a whole other story), and bought a sewing machine in Florida to be able to complete it. I cut and pieced it in Guadalajara. I made a plan to sew the body of the quilt from one corner to the other, to make the basket-weave pattern work. I was about five squares in from my starting corner when I realized that each seam was stretching (bending my triangle into an arc) because I'd designed it on the bias. I ripped out all the stitches, googled some possible solutions and put it aside for awhile.
I flew back to the US (nearly losing the sewing machine to Guadalajara security because it was potentially dangerous - i.e., "heavy with a handle on it" - no lie), drove back to Tucson to volunteer in the desert, back to Mexico (where I unexpectedly lost my residency status, essentially because my car's status didn't match mine - another whole other story), and (2 months later) back to the US and across country to North Carolina.
Where I began again. I asked the lady in the quilting store in my small North Carolina town (more foreign, in some ways, than my small town in Mexico) how I might finish this quilt, and she said, "It's impossible."
Well.
I tried sizing, but it wasn't as strong as I needed - my seams continued to stretch. I bought some plain cotton and cut it into thin strips. I folded each strip the long way, ironed them, cut them, and sandwiched each diagonal one by one. I didn't quite finish in North Carolina - I moved into an Airstream where there was no room to lay out the whole quilt (pretty big by now), and then the holidays were coming and I missed my friends and family in California, so ...
Back to a house on the Central Coast (okay, two houses), where I took the opportunity of a few large floors to fix some glitches and piece the last few squares and borders.
I don't own a long-arm machine, so now I had to find someone to quilt-stitch it for me. A friend gave me the name of someone she'd used (someone I'd actually recommended to her, when she was a year behind with a wedding gift that she couldn't look at anymore, that preyed on her weekends). I drove 200 miles to meet the long-arm quilter, and ... it was clear this was not a good fit.
I made some calls closer to home and was connected with the local quilting guild, which (to maintain their 501(c)(3) status) sews quilts for sick children. The woman running the operation (in a fabric store in Santa Maria) agreed to quilt my quilt for a small donation, which she said they could use to buy more batting. We agreed by phone to the color and stitch pattern, and she told me to come to another town (where the whole group was meeting) the next day to pick it up.
I walked in to a beehive of church ladies in the back room (about 20 of them), cutting, ironing, piecing, sewing ... they admired my new quilt, and I used their tools to cut my binding strips. (My cutting mat had long since warped and melted in my trunk, and I'd lost my measuring grids along the way.)
The last time I made a quilt was just before Proposition 8 passed in California. I didn't know who I'd be giving it to (it was Dupiani silk, and I'd realized it didn't suit my little treehouse apartment), but I knew that I had to finish it, that (I know how this sounds) it wanted to be in this world. I sat on my floor sewing it, thinking over and over again, "Who will I give this to? Why am I making this quilt?" when some old friends called to invite me to their emergency wedding (in the short window when they knew it was legal). This raised the question, "What will I give them?", which then (as I sewed) alternated in rhythm with "Why am I making this quilt?" until I realized that one question was the answer to the other.
As I worked to finish this hummingbird quilt, I had the same question: "Why am I making this quilt?" The wedding (which I never attended) was long past. I'm barely in touch with the people I'd intended it for. I don't have anyone else I'd like to give it to. (There are many people I love, but I can't give a gift this special to just one of them.) And like that old silk quilt in the treehouse, this new quilt doesn't quite suit my travel-light life.
So I kept it (because what else could I do with it?), and packed it away safely while I decided what to do next.
And then suddenly it was clear.
This is my quilt. This is my gift to myself.
And it's the prettiest thing that I own.
(As a side note, I just moved to a household devoted to hummingbirds. I put out 2-1/2 gallons of sugar water this morning, and I'll be hanging 4-1/2 more gallons tonight.)
posted by anshuman at 4:15 PM on October 21, 2016 [8 favorites]
That quilt is stunning, anshuman, and besides something to be proud of for its craftmanship, an amazing testament to persistence!
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 4:58 PM on October 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 4:58 PM on October 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
vegartanipla, that puffin piece is amazing!
Thanks! There are two other finished puffin paintings in the series and more on the way, but that's the only relief puffin so far. They all stem from my Icelandic artist residency, where on a visit to the Westman Islands I had the opportunity to lock myself in an office with a tame juvenile puffin for over an hour. Puffins are surprisingly ferret-like. It was immense fun.
posted by vegartanipla at 4:58 PM on October 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
Thanks! There are two other finished puffin paintings in the series and more on the way, but that's the only relief puffin so far. They all stem from my Icelandic artist residency, where on a visit to the Westman Islands I had the opportunity to lock myself in an office with a tame juvenile puffin for over an hour. Puffins are surprisingly ferret-like. It was immense fun.
posted by vegartanipla at 4:58 PM on October 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
Thanks! There are two other finished puffin paintings in the series and more on the way, but that's the only relief puffin so far. They all stem from my Icelandic artist residency, where on a visit to the Westman Islands I had the opportunity to lock myself in an office with a tame juvenile puffin for over an hour. Puffins are surprisingly ferret-like. It was immense fun.
Well, now I need a puffin. Also those paintings are equally awesome! The shells on the relief are really neat, though.
posted by lazuli at 8:21 PM on October 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
Well, now I need a puffin. Also those paintings are equally awesome! The shells on the relief are really neat, though.
posted by lazuli at 8:21 PM on October 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
oh wow vegartanipla - how time flies :)
posted by infini at 1:12 AM on October 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by infini at 1:12 AM on October 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
In my office, not my home, but still: Higgs candidate event. Made for MetaQuilter - this is the copy I kept myself. Framed by my aunt.
The most fun I've had with it is people who walk in and can recognize the detector and the event type just by looking at the redwork ;-)
posted by nat at 3:34 PM on October 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
The most fun I've had with it is people who walk in and can recognize the detector and the event type just by looking at the redwork ;-)
posted by nat at 3:34 PM on October 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
eyebrows, i'm sorry this is late, but... the election has sucked my brain out of my head...
i hope this works: morris chair
i inherited this morris chair from my nanna and pappy (my mom's parents). i curled up in it in their living room and read the children's books they had bought for my mom and her sisters while nanna and pappy watched lawrence welk on their trinitron.
it has lions! and wood wheels. i love it so much. i miss them so much.
posted by Wilbefort at 6:16 PM on October 26, 2016 [2 favorites]
i hope this works: morris chair
i inherited this morris chair from my nanna and pappy (my mom's parents). i curled up in it in their living room and read the children's books they had bought for my mom and her sisters while nanna and pappy watched lawrence welk on their trinitron.
it has lions! and wood wheels. i love it so much. i miss them so much.
posted by Wilbefort at 6:16 PM on October 26, 2016 [2 favorites]
I imagine that Steve Wozniak is way more humble than this, but I, for one, really like the Wizard Woz poster he has hanging somewhere.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:32 AM on October 27, 2016
posted by filthy light thief at 10:32 AM on October 27, 2016
This thread is pretty dead, but I wanted to share anyway-
I've been going through an extremely rough mental patch recently, and have had some comfort in these confessional doodles. It's well outside the realm of anything I've ever done before, but I'm still really pleased with them.
doodle gal #1
doodle gal #2
posted by FirstMateKate at 12:54 PM on October 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
I've been going through an extremely rough mental patch recently, and have had some comfort in these confessional doodles. It's well outside the realm of anything I've ever done before, but I'm still really pleased with them.
doodle gal #1
doodle gal #2
posted by FirstMateKate at 12:54 PM on October 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
Some of my fountain pens, the sparkly ones that look like mother-of-pearl. I don't use these ones much, because I use my Pilot Vanishing Point, my Namiki Falcon, and my Pilot Metropolitan all the time, but fountain pens, even more than books, comfort me.
Fountain pens.
posted by Peach at 10:12 AM on November 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
Fountain pens.
posted by Peach at 10:12 AM on November 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
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Right now I have it hung in the living room, in a spot I can see when I look over from my work table. Looking through the open doorway to the far wall with the smallish round mirror, the lines of the room converge perfectly on it, and especially when the light hits the curtains just so, it makes the whole scene look like a Vermeer painting.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 3:35 PM on October 15, 2016 [7 favorites]